WIGAN'S Great Britain rugby league forward Terry O'Connor yesterday pledged his allegiance to Ireland and will line up in the international against France in Paris on May 14th.

St Helens stand-off Tommy Martyn has also made himself available for the Irish as new coach Steve O'Neill starts to assemble a useful-looking squad.

By committing himself to Ireland, 25-year-old O'Connor, who made his Test debut against Papua New Guinea and played in all three matches against New Zealand on the 1996 Lions tour, has ruled himself out of contention for England in the run-up to the 1998 World Cup in Australia.

"It was a tough decision but I looked at the players who have already pushed themselves forward and Ireland will have a good team," said O'Connor, who has an Irish grandmother.